Mentoring Session

Mentoring Session

Available languages: EN

Time needed: from 2 hours to 4 hours per month

STS

LI1

LI2

Mentoring sessions enable participants to apply the concepts seen in trainings on their projects, with the support of experts. During this moment, participants must ask all questions they have and mentors provide their expertise and experience to answer or to challenge the project and make sure the entrepreneurs go on the right way and have understood correctly the concepts.

Mentoring session could be delivered in a stand alone event called Mentors’ evening.

During this event each team will have the possibility, in a round table, to discuss their project with selected mentors (at least two per team) in dedicated sessions with the support of a moderator and following a format that can envisage the following step: a project presentation (10 min), a first round of Q&A (15 min), critical issues and related strategies (30 minutes), workplan (15 minutes), recap of suggestions and action points (15 minutes).

During the mentors’ evening, inspiring talks can be offered to all participants. A mentors’ evening will take in total 3,5 hours, plus time for break and interaction with a buffet for networking.

Requirements to make the best out of the material

Before starting these sessions, mentors and entrepreneurs must have met before to talk in details about the project, the needs and the priorities. Mentors must have access to the resources and trainings, so that they have all information in mind to guide the entrepreneurs.

How to use this tool

Mentoring sessions happen during the Short Training Sessions, the Light Incubations but also at anytime on the participants’ demand. During this meeting, mentors must ask for a summary of the previous weeks and evaluate if objectives have been reached (after the action plan for instance) and if not, understand why. At the end of the meeting, it’s important to set up new objectives (or refer to the action plan to check if the objectives are realistic to achieve). Mentors’ role is not to have all answers, but to take note of the demands, difficulties or priorities and if needed, to talk with the program organizers to find the best resource or answer. Mentors can take notes of the meeting in the follow-up document, shared with the program organizers.

Expected outcome

Mentoring sessions enable the mentors to have a clear view on the participants’ work and identify their needs. The participants must leave the sessions with clear actions to do.